Cushman & Wakefield has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell the FreshDirect facility at 23-30 Borden Avenue, located between 23rd and 25th Streets in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. Ownership is requesting proposals and the bid deadline is March 31, 2015.

Due to FreshDirect’s impending move to a new location, this is a rare opportunity to acquire a unique asset of such a large scale with significant long-term development potential. FreshDirect is seeking an outright sale of the property with a leaseback for a period of time that includes a 12-month tenant termination option. This allows a potential purchaser the security of a guaranteed tenant at the time of sale in addition to a significant in-place revenue stream.

The property totals approximately 276,705 square feet on a 654’ x 329’ irregular lot, 90% of which includes state-of-the-art material management and refrigeration/freezer systems. In addition, there is an approximately 6,500 square foot digital billboard located on the roof with direct visibility from the Long Island Expressway. Since acquiring the property in 1999, FreshDirect has completed substantial capital improvements and upgrades to a majority of the building systems. Due to the current zoning designation the maximum FAR is 2.0, which translates into a total buildable square footage of 406,552 or an additional 129,847 square feet of development rights.

“In recent years, the progression of the New York City real estate market has exerted upward pressure on the value of repositioning the city’s once thriving industrial/warehouse and manufacturing properties. As a result, the demand for this product type has never been greater and continues to attract the attention of a rapidly transforming distribution industry,” stated Bob Knakal, Chairman – New York Investment Sales for Cushman & Wakefield, who is spearheading the marketing campaign for FreshDirect along with David Chkheidze. “The property features direct access to all of New York City’s major distribution channels such as Pulaski Bridge, Long Island Expressway, Midtown Tunnel, and Brooklyn Queens Expressway, as well as barge and rail ports,” Mr. Knakal added.